BENEDICT'S EAP IS IN GREAT DEMAND AS STRESS LEVELS AMONG WORKERS SOAR

BENEDICT Associates Ltd. has been helping Bermuda's employees stay
on an even keel and remain productive for more than two decades.

From relationship problems to drugs, from alcoholism
to difficulties with the boss, the company has helped employers and
their staff overcome multiple obstacles.

But Benedict's founder and managing director Vaughn Mosher says he
has never seen workers face more stress than they do these days.

And he puts some of that extra strain down to the gadgets that were
designed to make life easier.

"If you surveyed the workforce, I'm sure you'd find that people are
working more hours than they did 20 years ago," Mr. Mosher said.

"Also the technologies that were supposed to give us freedom have
not done that. We are being bombarded by three things in particular
- -- voicemail, internet and cell phones -- and it is almost
impossible for people to be out of reach.

"That means that even vacations are not what they once were. And
adding to the stress is that employers are demanding more these days."

Little wonder then, that Benedict's Employee Assistance Programme
(EAP) is much in demand. Workers with companies signed up to the
service can either confidentially seek help from Benedict or are
referred by management.

"What is surprising is that, year after year, we find that about 80
per cent of those who come to us are simply using the EAP as a
benefit, while only 20 per cent have actually been referred to us,"
Mr. Mosher said. "In the US, it's more like 50-50."

THE clients bring problems ranging from from alcoholism and drug
addiction to financial difficulties. "About 40 per cent of the
people we see are having relationship problems, whether it's
work-related relationships, family, personal or intimate
relationships," Mr. Mosher said.

"Around 15 per cent need psychiatric treatment, ranging from people
with neuroses to those who are into a full schizophrenic break.

"Counselling is not the only solution. Sometimes team building or
organisational effectiveness need to be addressed. Sometimes the
emphasis is on persuading management to adopt more realistic expectations."

Mr. Mosher added that what clients sometimes blamed on a conflict of
Bermudian and non-Bermudian, or of race, or of gender, was often
down simply to differing expectations.

This often occurred after new management took over, bringing in new
expectations that were higher than what the staff had been used to.

"Motivational counselling to encourage the person to take action to
improve their situation is another of the most significant ways we
can help," Mr. Mosher said.

"And it's important that I have hope, because if I don't, then how
can I instil hope into someone else?"

Use of EAPs started in the US in the early 1970s, EAP initially
having stood for Employee Alcoholism Programme. It was soon realised
there was a need for a wider focus and so the "A" came to stand for
"assistance".

Mr. Mosher was busying studying towards two master's degrees at
Boston College and at Johns Hopkins University, in subjects
including social psychology, behavioural sciences and community
mental health, as EAPs began to gain credibility in the business world.

"Companies realised that it was a cost-effective investment," Mr.
Mosher recalled. "The cost of terminating an employee and rehiring
was much greater than using an EAP to keep them employed. A business
can expect a three-to-one ratio return on its investment in an EAP.

"It's the right thing to do, but it also makes business sense."

In the early 1980s, Canadian Dr. David Archibald carried out a
survey of the Bermuda workforce, which found that alcohol and drugs
were having a significant negative effect on employees and their
employers. His recommendations included the creation of an EAP for
the island.

But when Mr. Mosher came back from university and tried to sell the
idea to the authorities, he met with an unenthusiastic response.

"While the US was open to privatisation, Bermuda was at that time
more used to the British model of the time, with health being very
much a public sector concern," Mr. Mosher said.

"I pitched it to the Government as something that could work with
the public and private sectors coming together, but the
decision-makers gave it the thumbs down.

"So I got together with a few people and we pushed ahead with it privately."

COMPANY boss Alan Burland was one of the original backers when
Benedict Associates Ltd. was formed in 1985, along with psychologist
Michael Ashton, businessman and trainer Stuart Doyle and Mr. Mosher.

The EAP, which is still Benedict's core service, is now accepted by
many employers as important to their business. Mr. Mosher estimates
that around 75 per cent of the workforce is covered by an EAP,
either with Benedict or with EAP of Bermuda, the Government-run equivalent.

"It is like an insurance policy in some ways but not others," Mr. Mosher said.

"The employer pays for 100 per cent of the EAP, compared to half for
health insurance. People use EAPs in two different ways. Employees
can use it as a personal benefit, or the employer can send a person
with work performance problems to us.

"Either way, there are no claim forms like there would be with
health insurance. Everything is totally confidential."

Around 60 employers have enrolled with Benedict, mostly large
companies. The company offers a special, capitated (flat fee per
employee) service for smaller companies, with fewer than 15 employees.

Benedict has a programme for schoolchildren, which works in a
similar way to its EAP. The Student Assistance Programme offers help
to youngsters having difficulties at school. Schools sign up to the
service, which is free to the children.

ONE consultant is working on a school placement programme, which
helps to match up students to the right colleges overseas,
particularly those with special needs.

And the company also offers consultancy to employers in
organisational effectiveness.

Drug testing is another arm of Benedict's wide-ranging work.

In the last year, the company has carried out around 1,800 drug
tests. Mr. Mosher said there were four distinct types of test.

Pre-employment testing was carried out on people applying for jobs
with client, random testing on employees, target testing on those
with a drugs history and testing with reasonable cause, on those who
were suspected of having taken drugs.

Testing has become quicker and easier since Benedict acquired
high-tech equipment that enables them to verify whether someone is
drug-free in double-quick time.

"We have a dedicated computer that is electronically linked to a
laboratory in Kansas City," Mr. Mosher said. "We put in the sample
at this end and within four minutes, we have results back from Kansas.

"If it says the sample needs to be confirmed, that means it is not
drug-free and it then has to be sent to a Government lab for confirmation."

The system tests for illicit drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine and
heroin, as well as legally prescribed drugs, which make up an
increasing proportion of drug abuse cases.Mr. Mosher, 59, a
Rotarian, loves his work and gains great satisfaction from successes
with clients.

"Some people say to me that it's time to retire, but I enjoy my work
- -- though I'm not a work-aholic - and I find great pleasure in
helping people," Mr. Mosher said. "And there is so much still to do."